This disclosure concerns manually operated winches for use to secure cargo on the above type of vehicles. When cargo needs to be secured for transport it is common to use a flexible tie down such as web type straps, chains, or ropes. It is common for these various types of tie down members to be tightened to secure the cargo with a manually operated winch. For example, it is common on a trailer designed to transport automobiles to secure each vehicle with multiple flexible tie downs and manually operated winches.
One type of prior art winch (shown in FIGS. 1-6 herein) is a style that is transversely mounted to a transport vehicle frame such as an automobile transporter and requires the use of a handle commonly referred to as a tie down bar to be inserted into a receiver and is used to provide an axially directed force causing rotational movement of the shaft which draws the flexible tie down taut. A single pawl is used to engage the ratchet gear teeth and keeps the shaft of the ratchet mechanism in its taut position. Prior art tie downs of the type differentiate themselves in how they utilize the handle or tie down bar to disengage the pawl from the ratchet gear teeth. Additionally, in these designs the operation of shaft rotation and the operation of the pawl are independent of one another and both require the use of a handle or tie down bar to be inserted into separate receivers to accomplish their functions. This type of winch cannot be operated by hand alone without the use of a handle or tie down bar and it is a common problem to lose the handle or tie down bar at an inopportune time which renders the operator unable to either tighten or loosen the winch.
It is also common that the operator may check the tightness of the flexible tie downs securing the cargo during transit and find that one or more has become loose due to vibration or other over the road conditions. If upon this discovery the operator finds they are without a suitable handle or tie down bar there is at least the inconvenience of securing another handle and at worst if a handle or tie down bar cannot be obtained and the operator continues on to the intended destination with the cargo being left as is in a possibly unsafe condition.
Another common manually operated winch (shown in FIGS. 7-9 herein) is of a style that is not transversely mounted to the transport vehicle and as such is a loose device that the operator places wherever it is needed and is designed to be used exclusively with strap type flexible tie downs. This type of winch is configured such that the rotation of the shaft is accomplished with a back and forth movement of a lever arm by hand alone. It is further configured with two ratchet gears, having one on each end of the shaft, and the shaft area between the two gears being configured to attach a trap type flexible tie down. Additionally, the operation of a pawl is also accomplished by hand alone.
Of the two types of prior art winches described herein the first is preferable over the second type for several reasons. One reason is that the first type being of a transversely mounted configuration makes it more suitable to secure cargo, such as an automobile, to the transport vehicle. Another reason is since it is mounted to the transport vehicle frame and not a loose device it is less time consuming for the operator to use. With a transport vehicle such as an automobile transport there can be as many as forty such winches required to safely secure all of the automobiles and because the second type of winch requires more time to be positioned and utilized it results in loss of productivity. Another reason is that the use of a handle or tie down bar is a preferred method of rotating the shaft over being rotated by hand alone because the extended length of the tie down bar increases leverage and reduces the physical stress required to draw the flexible tie down tight and secure the load. Additionally, with this second type of winch not being suitable to be transversely mounted to the transport vehicle frame it further burdens the operator with multiple additional tasks such as having adequate storage and the prevention of winches being lost or stolen.
The above prior art styles have long been considered as industry standards and adequate for their intended use and this factor has reduced the incentive for the skilled artisan to attempt to develop an improved ratchet drive winch mechanism, in my opinion.
One of the objectives of this invention is to configure a manually operated ratchet winch mechanism that is suitable to be transversely mounted to a transport vehicle and can be operated wither by hand alone or with a handle or tie down bar for the purpose of providing rotation of the shaft and providing operation of a pawl.
Another objective of this invention is to configure a manually operated ratchet drive winch mechanism suitable to be transversely mounted to a transport vehicle that can receive an air powered, electric powered, or hand operated winch thereby providing additional optional means of rotating the shaft.
An additional objective of this invention is to provide a transversely mounted manually operated ratchet winch mechanism with a lever arm that rotates the shaft with a continual back and forth movement thereby eliminating the need to insert a handle in one receiver position, rotate, remove the handle, reinsert into a different receiver position, and rotate again until the flexible tie down is tight.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a manually operated ratchet drive winch mechanism that eliminates the use of a handle or tie down bar for the purpose of disengaging a pawl from the ratchet gear to allow the shaft to rotate freely.